Raising Fall/Winter Chicks

[curiouseclectic]

Hello!

I just got approved for suburban chicken keeping and got my coop. I plan on getting 3-4 female bielefelders from Mt. Healthy Hatcheries. Approval and setup took longer this year than I wanted, so my question is this:

1. Is it a crazy idea to get chicks at the end of November and raise them inside until they can handle the cold? I live in Pittsburgh, PA so it can get quite cold. I’ve heard mixed things: some say raising chicks in the fall/winter is great, others I’ve talked to have said it is so messy and smelly they would wait until spring so they can be kicked out asap.

What have been people’s experiences? I’m a first time chicken keeper, so any insights are appreciated!

 

[Theorrin]

Hello!

I just got approved for suburban chicken keeping and got my coop. I plan on getting 3-4 female bielefelders from Mt. Healthy Hatcheries. Approval and setup took longer this year than I wanted, so my question is this:

1. Is it a crazy idea to get chicks at the end of November and raise them inside until they can handle the cold? I live in Pittsburgh, PA so it can get quite cold. I’ve heard mixed things: some say raising chicks in the fall/winter is great, others I’ve talked to have said it is so messy and smelly they would wait until spring so they can be kicked out asap.

What have been people’s experiences? I’m a first time chicken keeper, so any insights are appreciated!

i'm the second one. fall/winter they get smelly and more of an escape artist so i tend to wait till after our cold is done

 

[DobieLover]

Please post pictures of your setup.

I have raised birds in cold weather. And so have my broodies.

If you have your coop setup correctly for them, they can be brooded out in the coop. Use a brooder plate with a towel tossed over it or a mama heating pad and plenty of fluffy dry bedding in a well ventilated coop with do drafts at chick level. The only concern with using artificial heat (aka - no hen involved) is a power outage during the first 5-6 weeks before they are fully feathered.

 

[Tonyroo]

It's not practical for people who live in places with harsh winters. Full grown chickens can handle the temperature dip, chicks and juveniles can't. They just don't have enough feathers at that age to cope with temperature extremes.

If you decide to do it make sure you plan ahead to keep them safe over winter.

 

[mcdze]

ive done it before ..its alot more work ..its real messy to have to care for chicks indoors ..i would suggest keeping the numbers low if you do go for it, like 4 would be alot easier than 12 ..

 

[curiouseclectic]

Thanks for all the input everyone! Looks like I don’t really have the infrastructure to do it in a sane way (no electricity to the coop yet) and it sounds like keeping chickens in the basement overwinter will not be fun. I’ll just need to be patient and wait until spring. Thanks again for the wisdom